Mecca Masjid Dargah acquittals point to a disturbing trend
The acquittal of Swami Aseemanand and
four others in the 2007 Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast due to lack of
evidence has highlighted the ineffective role of the National
Investigation Agency (NIA) in cases related to terror attacks targeting
Muslims. The five acquitted are associated with a right-wing
organisation Abhinav Bharat which has been linked with similar cases
like 2006, 2008 Malegaon bombing, 2007 Samjhauta Express and Ajmer
Sharif Dargah blasts.
Aseemanand has already been acquitted in the Ajmer Sharif Dargah
blast case last year due to lack of evidence. The acquittal follows a
disturbing pattern where key witnesses have turned hostile in related
cases and NIA has chosen to remain a mute spectator.
NIA seems to have done a complete turnaround in pursuing these
cases after the BJP led NDA government came to power. The premier agency
has not been able to arrest any of the absconding accused in these
cases since 2014. They didn’t even challenge the court’s bail order to
two accused – Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma – in the Mecca Masjid
Dargah case earlier. NIA’s defence is they haven’t been able to recover
any material evidence related to the case.
This raises a bigger question mark on the efficacy of our
investigation agencies where they have not been able to gather any
concrete evidence for the prosecution in such cases. So far NIA has not
been able to find clinching evidence against anyone guilty of
orchestrating the Mecca Masjid Dargah blast. A government that cannot
bring perpetrators of terror to justice doesn’t augur well for any
democracy.
